Toole takes first steps to recovery

Jockey Peter was temporarily woken from his induced coma yesterday as he slowly recovers from his fall at the Grand National meet at Aintree.

Toole suffered bleeding to the right side of his brain after falling from horse betting outsider Classic Fly in the Maghull Novices’ chase before the National on Saturday. The 22-year-old was then put into an induced coma to minimise damage to his brain.

Trainer Charlie Mann confirmed the 22-year-old had briefly woken and moved his legs before being put back under, and added his prognosis was good after his CT scan results came back negative.

“His CT scan came back negative, which is good news," he said. His body is OK and he woke up last night (Monday) from the induced coma and he was moving his legs."

"They then put him back under in the night and he should be coming out of that again this morning.

"I've spoken to his father this morning and it is a case of so far, so good. Everything is as good as it can be at this stage. They'll do some tests on him when he has woken up." He added.

Toole has received the support from both fellow jockeys and those who place horse bets following his accident, with Tony McCoy sending his well wishes via Twitter.

“Don't push it ran great 2day v proud of him, but more importantly thoughts and prayers are with Peter Toole who has a serious head injury,” he wrote.

Toole’s condition remains “critical but stable” according to a statement from the Injured Jockey fund.

Toole’s accident comes as horse racing is placed under intense scrutiny following the death of two horses in the Grand National. Ornais and Dooneys Gate were fatally injured after their falls at the fourth and sixth fences, respectively, with riders forced to bypass the obstacles for the first time in the race's history.